Watlow ULTRAMIC® Advanced Ceramic Heaters

Watlow ULTRAMIC® advanced ceramic heaters are designed for medical, clinical diagnostic and analytical instrument applications where electrical safety, small size, rapid thermal cycling, temperature uniformity and cleanliness are critical. ULTRAMIC is an ideal match for applications such as clinical diagnostic instrumentation and DNA analysis.

When it comes to the design and marketing of medical equipment, advanced ceramic heaters offer numerous advantages over older generation metal-sheathed heaters based on 20- to 70-year-old legacy technology.

Ceramic heaters offer manufacturers of mass spectrometers, gas chromatographs, and other types of analytical instruments greater design flexibility due to their small size, cleanliness, easier system integration, integrated sensing options and fast response.

Clean and non-contaminating

ULTRAMIC heaters incorporate a thermally matched proprietary heating element that provides maximum performance in challenging applications. ULTRAMIC’s fully dense, aluminum nitride (AlN) construction is especially suitable for applications requiring a clean, non-contaminating heat source. Additionally, the excellent geometric stability ensures consistent part-to-part thermal contact during heating cycles.

Watlow AlN ceramic heaters can operate up to 600°C (1112°F) with an ultra-fast ramp rate of up to 150°C (270°F) per second depending on the application, heater design and process parameters. In addition to excellent thermal characteristics, ULTRAMIC heaters’ ceramic construction gives them high electrical isolation for low leakage current and typically provides superior chemical resistance as compared to traditional metal heaters.  Plus, ULTRAMIC heaters carry UL and CE agency recognition, which is not possible with traditional, small diameter metal sheathed heating solutions.

Other intrinsic advantages include, high thermal conductivity, superb temperature uniformity across the heater surface, incredible reliability, and vacuum compatibility.

OEM advantages

Unlike traditional metal heaters, ULTRAMIC heaters do not need to be electrically isolated with transformers or inserted into another block of metal inside the equipment for integration, but can be placed directly where heat is needed. These advantages reduce overall equipment weight and footprint, improves energy efficiency and simplifies assembly procedures.

The low-mass ULTRAMIC® ceramic heaters also offer reduced heat-up and cool-down times, for faster system startup and quicker changes between set points.

In summary, ceramic heaters allow OEM equipment designers and manufacturers to:

• Eliminate isolation transformers
• Reduce overall machine footprint
• Increase instrument accuracy, throughput and performance
• Simplify manufacturing and assembly processes
• More easily achieve agency recognition

Resources

Click on ULTRAMIC Full Product Information  for further information.
Click on Better Heaters Mean More Innovative Analytical Equipment Designs to learn more.